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President Biden Keeps Space Command HQ in Colorado Springs
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President Biden Keeps Space Command HQ in Colorado Springs

President Biden has selected Colorado Springs as the permanent headquarters of U.S. Space Command to maintain military readiness in the space domain.

Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, press secretary at the Department of Defense, said in a statement published Monday that Biden notified Pentagon of his decision following consultation with Defense Secretary and Wash100 awardee Lloyd Austin, as well as other senior military leaders.

Ryder said keeping the Space Command headquarters in Colorado would enable the command to integrate military space power into multi-domain operations to deter aggression and defend national security.

A report from The Hill said Biden’s decision reverses a Trump administration decision to relocate the temporary headquarters of Space Command to Alabama.

According to a senior administration official, the Space Command is set to achieve full operational capability later in August.

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Anthony Robbins, NVIDIA VP of Federal, Earns 2023 Wash100 & Accepts Award From Jim Garrettson
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Anthony Robbins, NVIDIA VP of Federal, Earns 2023 Wash100 & Accepts Award From Jim Garrettson

NVIDIA Vice President of Federal Anthony Robbins is now in his sixth year of receiving the prestigious Wash100 Award, the most highly respected honor in government contracting. Robbins convened with Executive Mosaic CEO and Wash100 founder Jim Garrettson in a delivery meeting at NVIDIA’s Herndon, Virginia office in July.

The Wash100 is made up of only the most accomplished change-makers in the GovCon sphere, which includes the federal government and the U.S. military. Among the winners over the course of the award’s decade-long history are agency directors, chief executives, generals and more. It recognizes individuals who EM’s voting body sees as the leaders of tomorrow; not just boasting an excellent track record, the committee believes that with these titans, the best is yet to come.

Robbins’ achievements across 2022 bode well for his 2023: a big believer in artificial intelligence, Robbins helped realize a partnership with Octo to bring AI services to the federal government. He also worked with Oracle, formulating a multiyear collaboration that plans to add and integrate a litany of computing tools to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.

Curious about Robbins’ Wash100-worthy career and contributions? Read his full profile here.

The executive’s backing of AI endeavors has seemingly paid off: in May of this year, the company’s revenues experienced a 28 percent increase largely in response to a valuation of its AI-related assets. NVIDIA demonstrated a record high stock price of $391.50.

Executive Mosaic extends its heartiest congratulations to Anthony Robbins and the whole team at NVIDIA’s federal division. Keep up the great work!

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House Bipartisan Legislation Proposes to Categorize Space as Critical Infrastructure
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House Bipartisan Legislation Proposes to Categorize Space as Critical Infrastructure

Reps. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., and Ken Calvert, R-Calif., led the introduction of a bill that would designate space products and services as critical infrastructure.

The lawmakers were joined on Thursday by Reps. Salud Carbajal, D-Calif., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Penn., in proposing the Space Infrastructure Act, which would place the sector under the protection of the Department of Homeland Security.

The inclusion of space among the critical sectors of infrastructure will help consolidate the collection and analysis of threat and security information, which are currently gathered separately from the 16 vital U.S. industries.

“Space is infrastructure,” Lieu stated. “So many things we rely on, such as navigation systems, banking, and communications systems, function with the help of technology in space. Designating space as a critical infrastructure sector would help ensure the industry receives the attention and resources it needs, thereby strengthening our national security.”

Lieu and Calvert are co-chairs of the California Aerospace Caucus.

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White House Issues Board’s Review of FISA Section 702 Intelligence Collection Authority
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White House Issues Board’s Review of FISA Section 702 Intelligence Collection Authority

The White House has released an unclassified version of a review conducted by the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s Section 702.

The PIAB report concludes that Section 702 is key to generating intelligence data needed to safeguard the U.S. from various threats, such as cyberattacks, terrorism, illegal export of critical technology and foreign influence on democracy.

“We agree with the unanimous conclusion reached by this group of independent, deeply experienced experts that failure to reauthorize Section 702 could be ‘one of the worst intelligence failures of our time,’” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Jon Finer, principal deputy national security adviser, said in a statement published Monday.

Sullivan and Finer stated that they agree with the board’s recommendation that the authority should be reauthorized without new damaging restrictions on assessing intelligence gathered by the government.

The report presents a list of 13 recommendations, such as directing the attorney general to remove FBI’s authority to perform queries for evidence of a non-national security-related crime in its Section 702 data and requiring the director of national intelligence and the attorney general to develop a rigorous pre-approval standard that is consistent across all agencies for U.S. person content queries.

Other recommendations are establishing within the executive branch a centralized, independent review mechanism to evaluate the effectiveness of the entire compliance and oversight system on a regular basis and enhancing transparency by declassifying the certifications specifying the categories of authorized collection under Section 702, which is set to expire on Dec. 31.

“We look forward to reviewing the Board’s recommendations for how we can secure this critical national security authority and to working with Congress to ensure its reauthorization,” Finer and Sullivan noted.

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Rosenworcel Strives to Meet Commercial Space Launches’ Communications Needs With FCC Rules
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Rosenworcel Strives to Meet Commercial Space Launches’ Communications Needs With FCC Rules

Jessica Rosenworcel, chair of the Federal Communications Commission, has introduced rules to support commercial space activities by ensuring the availability of needed spectrum resources for wireless communications services as part of the FCC’s Space Innovation agenda.

The new rules would implement a new allocation in the 2025 to 2110 MHz band for space launches, broaden the spectrum available in the 2200 to 2290 MHz band for commercial space activities on a secondary basis and advance technical and licensing rules for space launch missions, the commission said Friday.

“These rules will ensure commercial space launches have the necessary spectrum resources for reliable communications no matter their mission. These updates will promote economic strength, safety, competitiveness, and innovation,” said Rosenworcel.

“I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this latest action to continue the United States’ long history of space leadership,” she added.

The rules would require the FCC’s office of engineering and technology to release a public notice on a new docket for public feedback on the expanded use of non-federal satellite bands by federal agencies and allow the deployment of federal space stations by amending the allocation for the 399.9 to 400.05 MHz band.

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House Bill to Create Shared National Research Center for AI Development
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House Bill to Create Shared National Research Center for AI Development

Leaders of the Congressional Artificial Intelligence Caucus have proposed legislation that would establish a shared national research infrastructure to support the creation of secure, reliable and trustworthy AI systems.

The National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource would provide researchers and students from diverse backgrounds with increased access to resources to spur AI research and development nationwide and maintain U.S. leadership in AI, according to a statement from Rep. Anna Eshoo’s office.

“Diversifying and expanding access to AI systems is crucial to maintain American leadership in frontier AI that will bolster our national security, enhance our economic competitiveness, and spur groundbreaking scientific research that benefits the public good,” said Eshoo, co-chair of the Congressional AI Caucus.

The CREATE AI Act aims to provide computational resources, curated datasets, educational tools and services and open AI testbeds to support the testing and benchmarking of U.S.-manufactured AI technologies.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced a Senate companion of the bill.

Trusted AI and Autonomy Forum

Hear more about how AI could support critical missions at ExecutiveBiz’s Trusted AI and Autonomy Forum on Sept. 12 in Falls Church, Virginia. Click here to register and check out the list of speakers at the highly anticipated event.

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Executive Order Seeks to Strengthen Domestic Manufacturing Through R&D Investments
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Executive Order Seeks to Strengthen Domestic Manufacturing Through R&D Investments

President Joe Biden has signed an executive order that seeks to promote research and development investments in support of domestic manufacturing and U.S. jobs in critical industries.

The EO would modernize the use of iEdison, the government’s reporting system, to help the public, companies and researchers better understand the country’s innovation environment and require the Department of Commerce to come up with contract terms meant to help agencies gather data on inventions and their manufacturing sites, the White House said Friday.

The new policy would encourage agencies to factor domestic manufacturing in their R&D award solicitations and direct them to streamline the reporting requirements and transition such requirements to the iEdison portal by the end of 2025.

Under the new order, agencies are encouraged to consider adopting a range of authorities used to procure new technologies to support domestic production.

The White House policy would also streamline the U.S. manufacturing waiver process by encouraging agencies to acknowledge receipt of waiver applications within 10 business days and speed up waiver decisions.

It would also direct the Department of Commerce to create public guidance on how agencies should address waiver decisions as part of efforts to enhance the transparency of the waiver process.

NRO Revamps Website Design; Christopher Scolese Quoted
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NRO Revamps Website Design; Christopher Scolese Quoted

The National Reconnaissance Office launched its redesigned website, promising a more user-friendly functionality for individuals and businesses in the intelligence community.

NRO.gov now includes business resources about acquisition opportunities and potential research and development projects, the agency said Wednesday.

The online platform also offers information on job openings and benefits at the office.

Christopher Scolese, NRO director and four-time winner of the Wash100 Award, noted the new site reflects the agency’s forward-thinking culture.

“With its clear language and modern design, I’m confident users will easily find the information they need while getting an accurate picture of our cutting-edge technology and diverse team of highly skilled professionals,” Scolese commented.

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Stephen Streiffer to Assume Oak Ridge National Lab Director Post in October
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Stephen Streiffer to Assume Oak Ridge National Lab Director Post in October

Stephen Streiffer, interim director and vice president of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, has been appointed director of Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

UT-Battelle, which operates ORNL for the Department of Energy, chose Streiffer to assume the leadership role starting in October, the lab said Thursday.

Streiffer, a materials science and engineering expert, spent more than 24 years at Argonne National Laboratory. He started out as an assistant scientist and ultimately became deputy laboratory director for science and technology.

Prior to joining Argonne National Lab, he was lead developer at the Center for Nanoscale Materials and research assistant professor at North Carolina State University.

Early in his career, Streiffer was a research assistant at Stanford University, and later postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute.

“Stephen is a proven leader with diverse experience and a commitment to mission-driven research and development,” said Lou Von Thaer, CEO of Battelle and chair of UT-Battelle.

“Throughout his career, Stephen has leveraged existing strengths to create new opportunities and partnerships that strengthen our nation’s ability to innovate and compete,” added Von Thaer, eight-time inductee into the Wash100 elite annual list of outstanding government contracting leaders.

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Arnold Punaro: DOD Should Link Acquisition, Requirements & Budget Processes
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Arnold Punaro: DOD Should Link Acquisition, Requirements & Budget Processes

Arnold Punaro, CEO of the Punaro Group, said the U.S. needs 3 to 5 percent real growth in defense budgets to implement the National Security Strategy amid the great power competition with countries such as China and Russia.

“The challenge is not how much we are spending … it’s what do we get from what we’re spending … We should be measuring outputs, not inputs,” Punaro told Paul Lawrence, a retired U.S. Army captain and industry veteran, in a video interview posted on LinkedIn.

Punaro, a previous Wash100 awardee, cited some recommendations highlighted in his book “The Ever-Shrinking Fighting Force,” including the need to streamline the acquisition process within the Department of Defense by eliminating red tape and bureaucracy and the need to reduce the defense overhead while increasing the number of fighting forces and capabilities.

He also called on DOD to advance reforms by linking the requirements, acquisition and budget processes.

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